There's an interesting story in today's New York Times about Senator Robert Bennett's (R-Utah) troubles in winning his own party's nomination for re-election this year. Ordinarily, an incumbent like Bennett, with normally strong conservative credentials, no scandal, and lots of seniority, would have no problem, especially in receiving his own party's (re)nomination. But this is not an ordinary election cycle:
The dissatisfaction with Washington sweeping through politics is not only threatening the Democratic majority in Congress, it is also roiling Republican primaries. The Tea Party movement and advocacy groups on the right are demanding that candidates hew strictly to their ideological standards, and are moving aggressively to cast out those they deem to have strayed, even if only by participating in the compromises of legislating.
While I have my doubts that the Tea Party insurgency will lead to a significant number of Republican Senators losing their seats, one has to wonder at the strategic effects of all this - one of the problems of the 'Class of '94' was that they campaigned on a program of opposition, and once they actually held the reins of power they were either unable to implement policies or simply emulated the practices that they were elected to eliminate. While it seems unlikely (at this point) that the GOP will wrest control of either chamber as early as this election cycle, it's easy to see a similar fate befalling a Republican majority elected on a tide of Tea Party enthusiasm.
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